Jerramungup
Small wheat and sheep service town
Located 429 km south east of Perth and 179 km north east of Albany, Jerramungup is a small wheat and sheep town. There is a sign on the edge of town which declares 'Wool Country' which is a far cry from 'Jerramungup' which various sources define as meaning either a simplified pronunciation of 'yerra-mo-up' which supposedly refers to a particular native tree in the local Aboriginal language or a word meaning 'place of the tall yate trees which grow through the mist'.

The area around Jerramungup was first explored by John Septimus Roe in 1848 who passed through while on his way to Esperance. This was to be Roe's largest major expedition in Western Australia. Upon his return he declared that he was too old for such arduous undertakings. It was Roe who first used the name Jerramungup to refer to the area. In his diary of the journey he records 'we were gladdened by the view of a large extent of good grassy country to the N.E. lightly timbered, and at this time well watered by a river and its numerous branches. It is known to the natives as Jeer-a-mung-up'.

That same year the remarkable John Hassell expanded the property he had already established at Kendenup to include 20 000 acres (8 100 ha) near the present site of Jerramungup. He called his station 'Jerramongup'. The history of the area through the rest of the nineteenth century and most of the twentieth century is one of conflict with the local Aborigines, wandering sandalwood cutters, and sheep being grazed on land which had a low average annual rainfall of 392 mm. The sheep were grazed by shepherds who were in charge of flocks which ranged in size from 900-1100. By 1925 there were nearly 18 000 sheep being run on the 'Jerramongup' property.

The township of Jerramungup didn't really come into existence until the early 1950s when the area was targeted as a War Service Land Settlement area. The Hassell family sold 'Jarramongup' to the Land Settlement Board in 1950. A school opened in a shearing shed in 1956 and the town site was formally declared in 1957. By 1958 250 000 acres had been cleared and divided into 141 farms. Memories of the town's association with World War II are obvious in street names like Coral Sea Road, Kokoda Road, Lancaster Road, Monash Avenue, Spitfire Avenue, Java Sea Road and Tobruk Road.

The town achieved a brief moment of notoriety in 1969 when the local council decided to levy ratepayers to help pay for the cost of All Saints Church, an inter-denominational building which the council argued was a community service. So irate did seven of the local ratepayers become that they actually appealed to both the Queen and the United Nations. They lost and an anonymous person paid their levies. The church is located on the corner of Memorial Road and Vasey Street. Vasey Street runs off the South Coast Highway.

Things to see:  

Hassell Homesteads
The two Hassell homesteads (one built around the turn of the century in an 'Old English' design and an old stone cottage dating back to about 1859) can be seen from the road about 6 km from town. Travel 5 km east of the town on the Broomehill road and turn onto the Cameron Woolshed Road. They are on private property about 1 km from the turnoff.

Fitzgerald River National Park
For people wanting to explore the beautiful Fitzgerald River National Park there are a number of tours which run from Jerramungup. Contact (08) 9835 1150

	Tourist Information
	Jerramungup Tourist Centre Jerramungup Museum P.O. Box 81 Jerramungup WA 6337 Telephone: (08) 9835 1119
	Motels
	Jerramungup Motel Hassell Hwy Jerramungup WA 6337 Telephone: (08) 9835 1049
	Hotels
	Jerramungup Motor Hotel Hassell Hwy Jerramungup WA 6337 Telephone: (08) 9835 1011
	Bed & Breakfast/Guesthouses
	Jerramungup Farmstay Bed & Breakfast 1 South Coast Hwy Jerramungup WA 6337 Telephone: (08) 9835 1002
	Farm & Eco Holidays
	Eularna Farmstay Cottage West Maringerup Rd 30 km south Jerramungup WA 6337 Telephone: (08) 9836 2026
	Caravan Parks
	Jerramungup Caravan Park 1 Mooreshead Rd Jerramungup WA 6337 Telephone: (08) 9835 1174
	Restaurants
	Ampol Roadhouse Hassell Hwy Jerramungup WA 6337 Telephone: (08) 9835 1159
	Country Kitchen Restaurant 3 South Coast Hwy Jerramungup WA 6337 Telephone: (08) 9835 1159
	Jerramungup Motor Hotel Hassell Hwy Jerramungup WA 6337 Telephone: (08) 9835 1011